Improvement in bridges for ferry-boats



WILLIAM ALSOP.

improvement in Bridge for Ferry-Boats NO. 127,542, Patentdlune 4,1872.

n/ruamsa UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. ALSOP, OF (JAM DEN, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRIDGES FOR FERRY-BOATS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 127,542, dated June 4,1872; antedated May 21, 1872.

SPECIFICATION.

To all whom it may concern:

I, WILLIAM J. ALsoP, of Camden, county of Camden, State of New Jersey,have invented an Improved Bridge for Ferry-Boats, of which the followingis a specification:

Nature and Object of the Invention. I

My invention consists of a bridge or plank hinged to a ferry-boat, andarranged to lap over the same and onto the slip or wharf up to which theboat is brought, so as to form a safe means of passing onto or from theboat, and so as also to form, when elevated, a guard for the end of thesaid boat; and my invention also consists of certain devices for raisingand lowering the said bridge, and of certain peculiarities in theconstruction of the latter.

Description of the Accompanying Drawing.

Figure 1 is a plan view of part of a wharf or slip and of one end of aferry-boat with my improved bridge; Fig. 2, a sectional view of the sameon the line 1 2, Fig. 1 andFig. 3, a view of part of Fig. 2, with theparts in a different position.

General Description.

A represents one end of a ferry-boat, rounded as usual, and adapted tothe correspondingly-recessed wharf or slip B, which is provided with theusual appliances for bringing it to and maintaining it on the same levelas the deck of the boat. The slip has also the ordinary cranks and drumsO O for drawing in and holding the boat, by means of ropes or chains aand hooks a. adapted to the rings 1) on the deck of the said boat.Instead of the usual loose bridge or plank which is thrown over onto theboat to afford a passage to or from the latter when brought up to theslip, I employ a bridge, D, which extends entirely across the end of theboat and is hinged to the latter at its inner edge, so that when loweredor turned down it may lap over both the boat and slip and afford a safepassage for passengers and vehicles, as it cannot slip or be adjusted toany other than a proper position, owing to the fact that it is securedat one edge to the boat by the hinges c c c c.

The bridge may be made of planks or slats, or even of stout sheet-iron,and may be operated by hand or by any appropriate arrangement of tackle,and when the boat has moved away from the slip the said bridge may besimply raised and retained in a vertical position so as to serve as aguard for the end of the boat and enable the usual chains and ropes tobe dispensed with or it may be turned completely over upon its hingesand be laid fiat upon the deck of the boat.

I prefer, however, to arrange and operate the bridge in the manner andby the devices illustrated in the drawing, as I will now proceed todescribe.

A post, F, is secured to the deck of the boat close to each of theopposite ends of the bridge, at the rear of the latter, and to each ofthese posts is hung a pulley, d, over which passes a rope or chain, c,secured at one end to the outer edge of the bridge, and having suspended from its opposite end aweight, f. Alatchlever, g, Fig. 2, is hung toeach of the posts f, and is arranged to catch and retain the bridge whenthe latter is elevated. The bridge is furnished on the under side, closeto its outer edge, with two or more projections, h, which are arranged,when the bridge is lowered, to hook over rollers or bars 03 placed in arecess on the slip, this arrangement enabling the bridge to serve as ameans of securing the boat to the slip when brought straight up to thelatter, and consequently enabling the chains to and hooks a to be insome cases dispensed with. The bridge is also constructed with a sectionor strip, j, hinged to its outer edge, as shown in Fig. 3, so that incase the slip should be somewhat higher than the boat the said hingedsection may drop onto the slip instead of projecting above the same atan angle, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3. In place of this singlehinged strip at its outer edge, the whole bridge might be composed of anumber of sections hinged together, in order to enable it to adaptitself more readily to inequalities in the height of the boat and slip.

When the boat is brought up to the slip the latch-levers g are raisedand the bridge is lowered gradually, by means of the ropes or chains 6,until it rests upon the slip and the bridge is raised in the same mannerwhen the boatmoves away from the slip, the weights f serving ascounter-balances and enabling the bridge to be operated withcomparatively little exertion. The bridge when raised rests against theposts F, and is locked by means of the latches g, it serving then as amuch more effectual guard for the end of the boat,

in preventing passengers from approaching the Claims.

1. The arrangement, on a boat, of the uprights F F, the counterbalancedhinged bridge D, and the self-acting catch 9 for retaining the bridgewhen elevated, as described.

2. The hinged bridge F, when composed of two or more sections hingedtogether, as set forth.

3. The combination of hooks or projections h on the under side of thebridge with rollers or bars i on the slip, all substantially asspecifled.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

Witnesses:

WM. A. STEEL, JOHN K. RUPERTUS.

W. J. ALSOP.

